New or Used?

[lucyinthesky111l]

We are looking to buy our first PU and can't decide on whether to buy new or used.  That is our first decision to make and we can't decide.  Also, any ideas on what we need to look for when looking at a PU?

We love to camp and now that all of our kids have grown up we have decided to get off the ground, that and we have alot less help from the kids setting up camp.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Lucy

[PattieAM]

Not knowing your camping style (boondocking, state parks or private campgrounds), or even your tow vehicle - makes it difficult to advise or suggest.

Am assuming you will be camping more often, and maybe even cool weather camping.

Amenities are:

Furnace - great for cool weather camping (propane goes fast - can get about 23-28 hrs. use on a 20 lb. tank).  If camping where you have electric, supplement the furnace with an electric heater.

AC - much needed if camping in heat/humidity.

3 burner range (check to see if one burner is 'high output' as it will reduce cooking time).

Oven - very nice feature

3-way refrigerator/freezer - operates on 110v. electric, propane, and 12 volt battery (12 volt feature is basically to maintain temperature, not to cool).

Microwave - never thought I'd use it when camping, but first trip out, DIL used to heat the baby's food - and we've been using it ever since!  Great for heating that one cup of water for tea.

Potty/shower - some PUP's have the cassette toilet, others have the ceramic potty (I've got one), and those with a ceramic model have a 9 gallon blackwater holding tank.  A very nice feature/amenity which avoids the middle of the night - toe stubbing trek to the buggy bathhouse.

Various floor plans may/may not have glide outs - I've got the glide out dinette which is a comfortable nook for eating, reading, game play, and whatnot.  It frees up the aisle/floor space and no tripping over the other person.

Add-a-room/Screen room - nice if you will be staying at a CG for more than one night - AAR is weather proof/bug free enclosed space, whereas the ScreenRoom is just bug free.  Both are dependent upon awning and awning size.  Nice storage area, sitting area, dog romp area.

**************************

Your first consideration however will be your tow vehicle - it's got to be able to tow the weight of the camper, plus passengers, plus gear and propane/water, etc.  In addition, it needs to be able to stop the same.

You will need to determine the tow vehicle's tow capacity, and then the various models within the weight range.  Then the floor plans and amenities.

Best wishes in your PUP search.

As to new/used....some areas may have used units, some dealerships might also have some.  They will be lower in cost than new, but may not have warranty.  New features a warranty as well as the amenity brochures and some ease of mind.

[butterflyfish]

That was great advice, PattieAM.  
I just want to tell you our buying experience.  We looked at new PU not so seriously (we didn't price them from dealer to dealer).  When we saw the price of them new with all the amenities we needed (a/c (a must for SC and a child with a heart condition, I wanted a potty for emergencies etc.) the price (for us) went way out of our budget.  I was never a camper, the kids had never camped and DH had done mostly back packing before we met.  We had never camped as a family.  So DH didn't want to spend a lot of money on a camper that we might only use one season.  
One day I was searching craigslist (the first time I had ever done so) and decided to click on the RV  section.  Well right there was our camper.  2001, garage kept, very clean with a/c and owner added potty plus an second 3-way fridge.  So we went to look at it.  DH and I and the kids fell in love and made an offer.  We bought it in March and have used it twice and all of us (well maybe excluding our littlest.. but I think he is getting better) cannot wait to go camping again.  We even bought a new TV so we can haul more stuff with us.  The van we originally used, pulled it fine, but I was always worried about going over weight and we want to go to the mountians, so the truck will give us some more peace of mind.  Needless to say we still spent a lot of money with the new TV, but had we gone new, we would have bought the new TV anyway and would have still been way over budget (Besides DH has wanted a pick up for 10 years since he sold his old truck... this was a good excuse!)  This was just our experience.


PS.We do not have a warranty with our new-to-us PU since it wasn't transferable...

[flyfisherman]

Buying your first popup camper will be like going down to the River Jordan and getting baptized! You'll be a lot smarter afterwards and understand some of the intrinsic workings of the camper. I sure had a better idea of what I wanted on the second camper after having the first one!  However, doing what your doing is a big step in finding something that will fit your needs and wants far better than blindly going out and settling for the first thing that's "sold" to you. If possible, in your particular area, if they have a dealer that rents units like for a weekend or so, a lot of first time owners got an idea of what they wanted and maybe what they did'nt want! You might consider this for a first time try.

But the first question I would have to ask is what do you intend on using for a tow vehicle? Once you get that settled, you'll have a better idea of what is in your practical range. Better to have a smaller unit that's towable rather than something too large and a nightmare to tow. Believe me, a white knuckled towing experiece can take a lot of the pleasure out of popup camping.

Floor plans and accessories are important, too, but one can get carried away and end up with some "suff" you'll never use. Going from a tent to a basic popup camper will be a BIG leap forward in itself!

I've had some friends (and folks who have posted on this board) who have found some great bargins buying used. They seem to have been at the right place at the right time. If you buy new, a large amount of what you pay will be for the new unit warranty. The problem here is to expect a big depreciation.

Good luck,


Fly

[AZsix]

I would say used since it is your first one. You can find some great deals out there if you look enough. One reason that I say used is since it's your first one you need to make sure that pup camping is for you. Buy a new one and watch it depreciate as you drive it home. Six months down the road if you decide you don't want it you are going to take a loss when selling it. People that do that have some of the pups that can be good deals for you.

We have a cassette toilet in ours and we love it. We also have a shower but have yet to use it.

Good luck with your hunt.

[erich0521]

I'd opt for a good used one.  there is a big price difference.  We bought a new to us 3 yrs ago.  Here's what I've learned on what to look for in used.

1. Look carefully on the outside.  Roof seem to be solid w/o dips, etc.  does it fit around the bottom neatly?  If the roof is ABS plastic (made in the late 90's such as Coleman and some Jayco) be careful.  Some are ok but some were not.  

2. Tires and wheels.  Ask how hold the tires are.  If more than a few yrs old despite looking like new I'd replace them.  trailer tires have aharder life than do cars/trucks.  When were the bearings last repacked?  Needs to be done at least annually.

3. Does it have brakes?  If over a certain weight you need them.  check your state for requirements.  Electric or "surge" hydraulic?  electric will need a brake controller but are better than surge in my opinion.  (We have surge).

4. Look underneath.  Look for a lot of rust, bad areas of the wooden floor, etc.

5. Open up and take down.  does it open smoothly?  

6. Go inside and look for general condition.  Walk all around the floor looking/feeling for soft spots in the floor.  would indicate bad wood.  

7. Look for evidence of mice (chewed fabrics, etc.), water damage, condition of the tent material.  (replacement tents cost a good $1,000 or so)

8. What amenities do you want?  I advise an A/C during summer.   I like a sofa that can make into another bed.  etc, etc.  

9. sound hokey but spend 30 minutes inside.  Can you envision spending a rainy day inside?  The layouts can vary.

10.  Is there a dealer in your area that can service this make/model?

11. test everything.  sink, refrig (might take several hrs to get cool), stove, potty, electric outlets, LP gas detector, and so on.  

Finally, as others have said, make sure you can tow it.  What is the GVWR rating?  If it's 3,000 lbs or more and you have a car rated for 3,500 you might need a smaller PU.  I'd say buy as big a PU as you can safely tow.  There is a BIG difference in inside feel of an 8ft box versus a 10 ft box versus a 12 ft box in my opinion.

Best of luck.

[bethbritt]

Hi Lucy,

I'm at the same process in buying one as u r, and am enjoying your post with its replies, I probably would have posted the same question if u hadn't already.

THANKS!
Beth

[butterflyfish]

Just wanted to add...
Before we bought the PUP, we looked at a few motor homes.  My sis-in-law bought one off ebay and got it at a pretty good price.  We went to look at one on craigs list that costs just about what our pup cost us and OMG...  DH test drove it and was afraid to accelerate!  Then we looked at a dealer and the used ones were just too expensive and then not to mention the fact we'd still need to tow a car behind it, but the 50K price tags scared us away from the motorhomes.  I looked on ebay and didn't see any for the price SIL paid...  The previously owned PUP was a good alternative for us.

Now that we have the PUP, we are very happy with it.  Everything in it is is good working order and actually when it is open it is larger than any of the motorhomes we looked at.  The one thing I wish it did have was a larger fridge and a freezer and a real bathroom would be nice, but not necessary.  I hope we get a few years out of this PUP and then maybe we'll but a highlander or something, but I really love the PUP more than I thought I would!  Besides DH tells me one does not "upgrade" but "downgrades" but let me tell you this is about as close to tent camping as I think I can handle with my kids right now!!!

[Bowfin]

campers depreciate rapidly, so start used. Once you camp a few times, you'll know what features you can't live without, adn then can make a better decision if you choose to buy new.

Me, I prefer to buy used. Camper models don't change much year to year, so you can look at new ones and find that model a few years old.
Craiglsit and EBay are the two mainplaces I check online when browsing around.

[ForestCreature]

We love to camp and now that all of our kids have grown up we have decided to get off the ground, that and we have alot less help from the kids setting up camp.
 
 Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
 
 Thanks
 Lucy

No kids, just the 2 of you, easy set up = Aframe
Look into Aliner or Chalet. New or used long as you get what feels right it'll be good.

[lucyinthesky111l]

Wow, thanks to all for the advise.  We have been long time campers and have taken all of our kids camping for a week every year.  Now that they are grown and moved out we wanted to move up from tent camping to popup.  My joy is sleeping under the stars, so a traditional trailer or  enclosed trailer is not what I was wanting.  You all gave  wonderful advise and I think we have made our decision to keep looking and finding a good used popup.

Happy camping!

Lucy

[lucyinthesky111l]

Ok, first of all thanks to all who replied.  It gave me a good argument to him, but I am a wimp and gave in.  So new it is.  And over the last couple of weeks we have narrowed the search to either a Fleetwood Santa Fe(him) or Fleetwood Westlake(me).  So hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will be sleeping under the stars again (this time off the ground)!!!!   I am soooo excited!!

[sacrawf]

Congratulations!  My recommendation would have been for a new purchase as well.  New Pop-ups are relatively inexpensive compared to many other toys like bass boats, ATV's snowmobiles, and Harleys. I suggest that buy all the options you can, even those you suspect that you might not use now. That way you will have a camper that you will be able to use for many years and be equipped and prepared for whatever adventures you seek out. You will be more likely to be spending your time and money camping instead of modifying or repairing.

Ok, first of all thanks to all who replied.  It gave me a good argument to him, but I am a wimp and gave in.  So new it is.  And over the last couple of weeks we have narrowed the search to either a Fleetwood Santa Fe(him) or Fleetwood Westlake(me).  So hopefully within the next couple of weeks, I will be sleeping under the stars again (this time off the ground)!!!!   I am soooo excited!!

[archer]

We had the same questions before buying our 2007 Fleetwood Utah. We wanted to save the cash and buy used, we looked at used PUPs for over a year and what we found was either over priced late models or older junk. We decided to bite the bullet and just buy new. We are very glad we did, We have enjoyed our PUP so much and we picked out what we wanted and have no regrets!! It has been worth every dollar! We have the slide out dinette, the 2 king beds and the front storage box which i think are the best features of the Utah.

 We bought from Leisure Time RV in Titusville Fl and for the most part had a good experience. We used Peco RVs in Atlantas prices to get Leisure time to bring their price to within 400.00 of Peco who had the lowest Fleetwood Prices in the South.  Good Luck and Happy Camping

[lucyinthesky111l]

Ok, well we have a brand new camper.  It's a Coleman Sante Fe We got it home last Friday, popped it up and played with it for the next 2 days (we even slept in it).  This coming Thursday we are taking it on its "Maiden Voyage" and are so excited we cant stand it.  We are taking it locally to a state park for a couple of days!!!

Thanks to everyone for all the input, it was a big help.